During the American Revolution, Baldwin served as a chaplain and became the acquaintance of George Washington. Declining the offer of a professorship at Yale, Abraham Baldwin instead moved to Georgia in He followed his friend Gen. He founded the city of Athens and was an original trustee of the University of Georgia, the first chartered state-supported institution of higher learning founded in The opening of this university, originally conceived by the famous Rev.
George Whitefield in , did not have classes until , however, due to the disruption by conflict with the Indians. Baldwin would serve several terms in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives and from until his death in as a Senator, including a term as president of the Senate.
Baldwin played a pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention in He helped to arrange for the creation of the compromise that led to the method of representation in the proposed Congress. That controversy had threatened to end the Convention. Baldwin also served in the Grand Committee led by Benjamin Franklin that made the Constitution possible. Few and Walton came from the frontier and represented the promise of what this new world could become.
Baldwin, Few, and Walton played great roles in creating the United States that followed. All of these Georgians deserve the title of founders. Knopf, Jones, Jr.
Gordon Burns Smith, Morningstars of Liberty 2 vols. Hawes and Albert S. Britt Jr. Merton coulter and Albert B. He just had to move to New York. Nevertheless he is as close to a real life, rugged frontiersman as one could imagine. Few was regrettably absent for much of the Convention too but Baldwin is an under-appreciated figure there for the small states. At age twenty-six, he was the youngest signer of the famous document.
Walton continued to serve in the Continental Congress until October of , then stayed active in political and military affairs upon his return to Georgia. When the British attacked Savannah in December of , Walton was wounded and taken prisoner. He recovered and was exchanged in October of Upon his release he toured the Georgia back country encouraging citizens to keep up the fight for independence.
After the Revolution, Walton served two terms as Georgia governor, in the United States Senate, and as a superior court judge. He finally retired to his farm in Richmond County — dying in Augusta on February 2, Lyman Hall. Lyman Hall was one of only five physicians to sign the Declaration of Independence. While not an active participant in the debates at the Continental Congress, Hall was a tireless committee worker—particularly in trying to procure medicine and clothing for soldiers.
He returned home in February, , to help defend the state. Hall was a longtime friend of Button Gwinnett, one of his fellow delegates to the Congress. Hall supported Gwinnett in his famous feud with Lachlan McIntosh, which eventually led to the duel that cost Gwinnett his life.
With the confusion about the government after the Revolutionary War, Baldwin, who was wise, kind, educated, and intelligent filled this vital role, representing his state and proving to be a national asset through the drafting and ratification of the U.
Moving after the war, Baldwin lived in Wilkes County. He was practicing law and was working very hard to establish the University of Georgia. In Baldwin served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. While Georgia had other delegates to attend, it was Abraham Baldwin and William Few who stayed through all of the debate and signed the constitution.
The delegates represented different states and had different visions about how the states should work together to form one federal government. A major concern was deciding how the states should be represented in Congress.
Larger states wanted representation based on population, while smaller states wanted equal representation. As president of the Continental Congress, Hancock is credited as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
His prominent, stylish signature became famous. According to legend, Hancock boldly inscribed his name so the English king would not need glasses to read it.
Signing the Declaration Hancock was president of Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. The signers of the two documents have some overlap — Benjamin Franklin signed both, but John Hancock wrote large only on the Declaration of Independence. Table of Contents. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.
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